Swan Lake
by Lupin Drake
Summary: Humans always get the details of stories wrong. AU setting. Lokane.
1. Chapter 1

Devil is in the details, they say.

Loki stared hard at the lake—Swan Lake. The hundred or so swans swam its cool waters, the willow and oak trees casting shadows and making the fading sunlight glitter along the ripples. How he hated those waters, the magic connected to it. Made of the tears of parents weeping for their dear children, ha! Mortals didn't know anything.

Well, amend that.

One swan noticed his presence and squawked, alerting the others as it swam away. Soon, everything was a rush of feathers and splashes, warning cries and exclamations of fear for what they didn't understand. The sounds echoed in the forest until they were all in the center of the lake, too far for him to reach unless he used his magic—which he wouldn't. Not unless he wanted the guardians of the forest unleashing their wraths.

Everyone knew that you did not harm the swans.

He stared until the lake calmed, becoming like a mirror once more. The moon would be rising soon, and it would be best if he left before they transformed. The last time he had stayed, the guardians didn't like it, and he did not want to repeat that battle.

Loki was about to get up when there was a rustle of leaves, and a swan flew down from a tree and landed next to his feet, rubbing its head on his shin.

"There you are," he said softly, picking the swan up and stroking her wings. Soft brown eyes looked up at him, and it made him smile. The one who never feared him. "Were you off to far away lands in your swan form again?"

She let out a small note. Of course.

He chuckled and kissed her beak. "Go, the moon is almost in the right place. How long has it been since you were in your human form, silly girl?"

She teased him by pecking his cheek, a small nip that didn't even sting, before jumping out of his arms and swimming into the lake just when the moon touched its surface.

He covered his ears as he heard shrill screams of a dozen girls running away from him, fearful now that they were in their human forms and no longer swans. He rolled his eyes as they lifted their water soaked skirts, keeping close to one another. As if he would bother wit them—he didn't know them and could care less.

"Sorry, I had gotten to the coast and was enjoying the weather," Jane said as she came back to him, her hair wet and a smile on her lovely, human face.

He chuckled and kissed her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"It is alright, I was busy trying to solve this blasted curse. You would think that the guardians would assist you and break it for us," he said quietly.

Jane shook her head. "No, they're jerks. They like their pretty swans, and they like humans that suck up to them. What is better than a swan that will never die, can never leave, and turns into a human at night who can't leave?"

Once again, Loki cursed himself for taking Jane to this spot. He didn't know about the curse until it was too late, no one knew about the curse, how some of the swans were not creatures born from legs hatched in nests. A simple swim in the moonlight was all it took for her to be snagged into the web of the ancient spirits of these woods. Why couldn't he have been caught into it with her? Greedy things, taking away what was his.

If he had the power to destroy them, he would. Until then, he would work tirelessly to break the spell and free her.

"You're blaming yourself again. Stop that."

He kissed her cheek. "How can I not? I—"

"Did not know about it. So stop wasting time and energy with those feelings, okay? I'm not hurt, I'm just stuck as a bird most of the time."

He laughed and kissed her again.

"They tell me that a prince is going to become of age and need to wed soon," he commented, his mind going back to his books, the ones he had borrowed from a dragon. "I think there is a spell I can add to the one you're under to free you."

Her eyes lit up. "Really? What is it? How does it work?"

Loki grinned. "It will take some planning and a little lying."

"Go for it, Liesmith."

"I plan to, my stargazer."


	2. Chapter 2

The moonlight always left a sort of mint after taste in her mouth when she was transformed. Getting out of the water, she wiped the mud on her feet off on the grass, hearing the other girls transform and get out of the water. Jane wished that the splashes weren't familiar, or that she wasn't used to this lake and its sights. It was depressing, getting to know this lake and its sights as well as she had. Not that she blamed Loki, who had brought her here in the first place. He was just as shocked as she was.

Guardians of the forest, her ass. They were selfish beings that just had powers.

Jane scowled at the other girls across the lake, hating that they were the fainting flower type. None of them seemed to be interested in the idea of trying to escape from this place, or asking the spirits to let them go, as much as she tried to convince them. That had convinced her that they were either born in centuries before where girls were trained to always obey someone more powerful than them, or they were stupid nitwits.

It might be a good idea to appease the spirits keeping them captive here, but since when did Jane ever do what she was told or tried to appease someone?

She had almost finished wringing out her shirt when the wind suddenly picked up, blowing leaves from the forest floor and scattering them across the moonlit surface of the lake. Then there was a massive amount of twittering, like crickets.

"Hello pretty, pretty swans!" about ten different voices called out. On the leaves, little flickers of blue flame appeared. They never appeared as anything else, and Jane wondered why they didn't just pull out all the stops for them. The girls knew they couldn't go anywhere or break the spell, or they would have done it a long time ago. "Moon is pretty, making your feathers pretty. How are you tonight?"

"Oh, quite well," the self-appointed leader of the other girls said. "The weather has been really lovely, so much better than the storms we got last week."

Jane rolled her eyes. Suck up.

"You there! Other swan!" one of the spirits cried out, flying off of its leaf and getting too close to her face for her to like. "Why are you so quiet you don't like it here why not it's pretty yes?" She swatted at, sending it back a few feet in a random direction with a hot glare. Try as they might, they weren't going to get a pleasant word from her.

"Stay away from me."

The other girls gasped, as they always did. Jane really wanted to scream at them. Centuries they might have been here and they were content to be the playthings of spirits? Didn't any of them ever think about life beyond what others told them? This wouldn't be the first time, or the last, that she would defy the guardians. Even as the spirits rose up with angry chatter, she held ground.

They didn't scare her, but she knew of someone that they feared.

"Bad girl, bad girl! We give you wings and pretty place and you are so mean!"

"We should turn her into a swan at night too! Make her sing pretty songs!"

"Yes! No more swatting away or insults!"

"Do any more magic on me, and I swear, you are going to have a very pissed off Loki on your hands!" Jane yelled. "Forget about him just freeing me, he's going to destroy you!"

Jane hoped that he wouldn't do something as drastic as that, as the guardians might then do something to the other girls, and it wasn't their faults that they were in here. Like her, they had probably stumbled upon this lake and got trapped. It was a good threat never the less, and she would do something hotheaded and rash if anything happened to Loki.

"It is lovely to hear you speak of my powers like that," came a chuckle.

The spirits vanished, all of the glows leaving the lake. They were still there, listening, but they weren't going to do anything yet.

She turned around and beamed. "Loki!" Blinking, she held back from rushing over to him—before she realized that he was just in the disguise of an old man dressed in old musty robes and cloaks. She kissed his wrinkled cheek, grinning when she saw that his eyes were the same green. "What are you doing, looking like death warmed over?"

"I am putting my plan into action, of course," he explained, lifting his chin proudly. "So I need you to stay here and not go off exploring for the next three days. You need to be on the water when the moon hits it or I won't be able to get you out of here."

"What about the other girls?" Jane asked. Idiots they were, but they didn't deserve to be stuck here forever. It would piss off the spirits so wonderfully too.

"If they are on the water, it will work for them too." He stroked her cheek. "I found a little trick in their spell… You'll be able to leave this place soon."

"That's great news," she whispered. "I've missed you."

"And I you." Loki murmured, leaning in and kissing her. Gasps and exclamations from the girls made them pull back too soon for her liking, and she glared at them.

"What is it now?" she exclaimed.

"How can you still be with that man?" the leader of the other girls said. "He is a wizard, clearly evil. How can you trust him?"

"How?" Jane shouted. "You've seen him here before! He visits almost every night I am here! He's trying to break the spell, free me and you at the same time, and you—"

"Don't bother," Loki said, pulling her back to him. "She's not worth it."

"Yeah, I know. So, all I need to do is wait?"

He nodded and kissed her cheek. "Yes. Three days, my stargazer."

"I just wish I could do more. I hate that I can't go to a library and look something up, or even get electricity here and use my laptop. Not having fingers most of the day really sucks!"

Loki grinned and tweaked her nose. "I shall teach you magic when you're free, how is that? Then next time you get caught by a spell, you can work on it too."

"Deal."


	3. Chapter 3

Jane paced around a side of the lake nervously.

Two days ago, a prince had visited the lake and had fallen in love with one of the other maidens there, one of the younger and quieter ones. Not meek, per say, but the kind of girl who seemed to like to stay in the sidelines and watch everything. It was almost like a fairy tale with how the two were suddenly drawn together, but Jane, for a moment, feared for them all when the prince stumbled upon their lake with his bow and arrow.

What kind of person hunted at night? What kind of person followed swans, of all things? There were better, bigger game in the forest, ones that would have more meet and would probably earn more praise. They were still in their swan forms, and she knew people could eat swans, that there were probably old recipes for something. He was drawing an arrow to make the first kill of the night when the moon finally hit the water.

Through the other girl, he had learned of the curse, and swore that he would break it.

Except… there was an odd detail: Odette kept mentioning an evil wizard. Jane bit her lip. She knew that was Loki—who else would it be? But she did not know what his label as an evil wizard would accomplish. What if the prince tried to kill him to break the spell? Where would that leave anyone? It wouldn't break a hold of the guardian's power. Or maybe he was trying to recreate the ballet. Sometimes stories had bits and pieces of truth in them, and Loki would have certainly stumbled upon that in his search.

She just hoped that all would go well. Tonight was the third night, and Odette had gone to some sort of ball or something after the prince invited her the night before.

Jane sighed and kept pacing. All of this was just too much like the ballet already, and Jane knew that there were more tragic endings than the romantic ones for a reason.

Suddenly, Odette burst through the underbrush, crying and scratched from branches and thorns, nearly colliding into Jane.

"Hey, hey! What's wrong, what happened to you?" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around her in a hug. "It's alright, you're safe here."

"S-Siegfried—h-he's being betrothed to another and—and the curse!"

"What about it?" Jane asked. She pulled her over to a dry spot of grass. "Calm down, tell me what happened. Maybe I can help."

"The wizard, the one you are so often seen with, told me that the storytellers got one detail correct: that a pledge of true love could break the spell. Siegfried had to proclaim his love to me in front of the whole world," she sobbed. "He wanted to do it tonight, b-but his parents promised him to another! I wasn't allowed into the palace! He had to make the promise to another tonight! We're doomed!"

Jane felt all of the blood drain from her face. No. She knew that Loki was a brilliant trickster and could plan world domination out of a plastic bag, but of course… of course he wouldn't have been able to plan someone else's plans taking over his.

Then there was an explosion and they were knocked into the water.

"Foul wizard! I shall kill you for what you have done!"

Siegfried came into view, and Loki, disguised still, gave him a wicked grin as he flew overhead and sent down another shot of bright green flame. "Try, prince! Just try!"

The other girls screamed and ran for the woods, and the guardians came out, screaming and hissing, glowing an angry red.

"Our lake! Our swans!"

"Bad wizard! Bad prince!"

"Guardians of the forest!" Siegfried yelled. "I have come here to slay the wizard who holds these maidens captive here at this lake! Aid me!"

"They will not aid you!" Loki shouted from above. "They are selfish creatures! You still have a chance to save the maidens, if you'd rather not waste your time!"

Jane coughed some of the water out from her lungs and watched as a battle unfolded before her: a clash of the guardians swarming around Loki and Siegfried, the two of them fighting each other and the guardians, all mixed with explosions sending water and trees everywhere, girls screaming, and Odette falling to her knees in prayer.

Something told her that Loki's plan wasn't supposed to go like _this_.

Getting up, she started to run for the thick of it. "Stop it! Hey! Siegfried—_stop it_!" A few guardians swarmed around her and she swatted at them until they grew bigger, taking on the shapes of wolves made from blue flames. She couldn't swat them out of the way anymore, especially with one growling as it advanced towards her.

"Bad swan. Brought wizard. Wouldn't be nice."

"How _could_ I be nice when you kidnapped me?" she yelled. "What did you expect?"

"Bad, bad, bad swan."

Jane backed up a little, trying to look for something to smack it with, even if it might just go through it. A rock, the branch from a tree, anything. The wolf kept growling and pushing her back towards the other maidens, and a pit formed in her stomach.

What if Loki's plan failed? What if she was stuck here forever, never aging, forced to amuse these spirits until the end of time? Never able to experience anything beyond this lake as a human being ever again? Only able to escape it for a short while as a swan? She mentally shook her head. No. He wouldn't fail her. He promised three more days.

Loki screamed.

Her legs moved before she could even think of it, rushing to where he was falling, an arrow lodged in his chest, blood blooming across it—

He hit a shallow part of the lake and all was still for a brief moment.

Then she was splashing in the water, dragging him out of it, pleading with him to open his eyes, show some sign that he was alive.

"Bad swan, bad—"

"Back the fuck off!" she screamed as loud as she could. "Don't you dare come near me! You captured us, made us your slaves, and now you're bringing in more people to keep us here! Don't you dare call me a swan or so help me I'll—"

"Jane?"

She looked down and saw Loki grimacing, but alive.

"Loki? Oh my god, Loki…"

He grunted in slight pain. "Well. This wasn't according to plan."

"Tell me about it. Why didn't you tell me about the pledge?" she whispered, her hands shaking as she touched his face. He looked so pale… deathly pale, not just his usual lack of sunlight.

"Your freedom had been stolen already—why would I do that to you?" he coughed. "This pledge has to be forever… you can't lie or pretend…"

Jane kissed him gently before he could say anymore.

"Loki, I love you. Pledging that wouldn't trap me. You've shown me worlds and stars a-and things I never thought I'd see."

He smiled weakly. "Oh, Jane…"

"So I pledge myself to you, as ridiculous as that sounds. Now and forever and all that. Even if it doesn't break the spell."

"Do you mean it?" he whispered, his face overcome with surprise.

She nodded and grinned. "Now use your stupid magic and heal yourself, you drama-loving idiot."

He chuckled and pulled her down for another kiss, and Jane could feel him use magic on himself, fix up whatever wounds he had, and be ready to fight against seven hundred stupid princes with swords and spirits having his back. It left a faint tingle on her lips, a familiar one. When he let her up, his eyes were even glittering with mischief, and he was obviously pleased with himself about something. They both jumped in surprise when the spirits let out a sudden scream, hundreds of shrill screams, gusting winds rising and snapping branches off of trees, lifting rocks, and sending it all flying.

Jane felt herself be thrown to the ground and Loki covering her, his arms around her head, the roar of everything barely muffled for what felt like hours.

His breath beside her ear was a comforting sound.

"At least we have some place to take them to that is kind of familiar," Jane said the next day, staying close to Loki once she had her fill of running around and doing what she wanted without the fear of having to go to a lake or be turned into a swan. It felt so nice to feel he sunlight on her bare skin instead of through feathers, to be able to turn pages, hear people use proper grammar, and not have to fish for her breakfast.

Loki nodded and played with her hair, content to be with her on the bridge that overlooked most of the city.

Like he had said, with the modifications he had done to the spell, all of the girls were freed from their imprisonment, which left quite a few of them lost and homeless, considered dead or forgotten by historians and storytellers. Asgard would be a perfect place for them, so old-fashioned and rooted in the past. The only one who didn't come with them was Odette, who went with Siegfried to get reacquainted with the world. They didn't even need to worry about the other princess, as she was just a clever ploy that Loki devised to get the two of them out there and pledge love on the lake.

Not that it turned out according to plan.

"At least the most important one is by my side again."

She turned and smiled, not even having to wait for the kiss he had leaned in to give her.

"Evil wizard, huh?"

Loki shrugged. "Stories sometimes have clichés for a reason."

* * *

Thanks to everyone who had read and/or reviewed this story! It has been a while since I written a multi-chaptered fic, and I'm glad I finished one for once. The original inspiration for this came from a picture up on deviantART ( kota-stoker . deviantart gallery/ ? offset= 24#/d4k22p5) and I kind of twisted the story behind it. I couldn't resist making Loki Von Rothbart, because in some versions of the story, he did get Odette in the end. That makes me want a sequel ballet.

I don't think the ending is the strongest in the world, but I think it fits. This was meant to be a simple and fun story anyways. :)


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